World News Roundup: Brazil COVID-19 deaths reach 100,000; Blast rocks military base in Somali capital and more

Reuters senior television producer Ayat Basma provided the world with some of the first images of the damage caused when 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, stored at the Beirut port, ignited and caused a blast that would end up killing at least 150 people and destroying a swathe of the city.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 08-08-2020 18:52 IST | Created: 08-08-2020 18:30 IST
 World News Roundup: Brazil COVID-19 deaths reach 100,000; Blast rocks military base in Somali capital and more
Representative image Image Credit: ANI
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Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

France offers aid as Mauritius declares emergency over oil spill from stranded vessel

French President Emmanuel Macron pledged on Saturday to send teams and equipment to help Mauritius deal with an oil spill that environmentalists fear could be a major ecological disaster. The bulk carrier MV Wakashio ran aground on July 25 on a reef on the south east coast of the Indian Ocean island.

Blast rocks military base in Somali capital, at least eight dead

A huge blast rocked a military base in Somalia's capital Mogadishu near a stadium on Saturday, killing at least eight people and injuring 14, emergency workers said, and the militant group al Shabaab claimed responsiblity. Soldiers opened fire after the explosion which sent clouds of smoke into the sky, said Halima Abdisalan, a mother of three who lives near the area.

Russian city holds another anti-Kremlin protest over detained governor

About 3,000 people joined another march in the Russian far eastern city of Khabarovsk on Saturday in protest over President Vladimir Putin's handling of a local political crisis. Residents of Khabarovsk, around 3,800 miles (6,110 km) and seven time zones east of Moscow, are protesting for a fifth consecutive weekend against the detention of Sergei Furgal, the wider region's popular governor.

Brazil COVID-19 deaths reach 100,000 and barrel onward

Brazil's death toll from COVID-19 is expected to hit 100,000 on Saturday and continue to climb as most Brazilian cities reopen shops and dining even though the pandemic has yet to peak. Confronting its most lethal outbreak since the Spanish flu a century ago, Brazil reported its first cases of the novel coronavirus at the end of February. The virus took three months to kill 50,000 people, and just 50 days to kill the next 50,000.

Backstory: Covering the Beirut blast, bruised and bloodied

Imagine what it's like to be flung to the floor by a gigantic explosion, dodge a falling wardrobe in your home, be cut in the forehead by flying glass - and then brush off the blood and start filming the news. Reuters senior television producer Ayat Basma provided the world with some of the first images of the damage caused when 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, stored at the Beirut port, ignited and caused a blast that would end up killing at least 150 people and destroying a swathe of the city.

Thai protesters stage anti-government rally despite activists release

More than 1,000 anti-government demonstrators gathered in Bangkok's commercial district on Saturday after protest leaders were held overnight in a police station. Human rights lawyer Anon Nampa, 35, and student activist Panupong Jasnok, 23, were arrested on Friday and held in connection with a series of protests demanding greater democracy.

Ceasefire offers an opportunity for eastern Ukraine peace push, says the president

Ukraine wants to build on a lull in fighting in the eastern Donbas region to push for a lasting peace settlement at a new round of four-way talks with Russia, France, and Germany, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Reuters. Dressed in a T-shirt and khaki trousers, Zelenskiy was speaking on a visit to the area on the 12th day of what Kyiv hopes will be a permanent ceasefire agreed with Russian-backed forces on July 27.

U.S. sanctions branded 'clowning actions' as Hong Kong vows it won't be intimidated

Beijing's top representative office in Hong Kong said on Saturday that sanctions imposed by Washington on senior Hong Kong and Chinese officials were "clowning actions" that would not frighten or intimidate Chinese people. Separately, the Hong Kong government said the sanctions were "shameless and despicable" and represented "blatant and barbaric" interference in China's internal affairs.

Lebanese vent rage against their leaders after blast; protesters gather

As Beirut mourned its dead and grappled with the scale of rebuilding after this week's massive blast, some Lebanese angered by their government's response called on foreign states on Saturday to topple their leaders and run the country. Several hundred protesters began gathering in Martyrs' Square in the city center for a demonstration to criticize the government's handling of the biggest explosion in Beirut's history. The blast in the port killed 154 people, injured 5,000, and destroyed a swathe of the city.

'I don't want to fly again': Surviving India's worst crash in 10 years

Seated on the last row of the plane, Muhammed Junaid sensed something was amiss when Air India Express flight IX 1344 from Dubai was jerked around by strong winds as it approached the southern Indian city of Kozhikode late on Friday. After an aborted attempt, the aircraft swung around and touched down on the runway, said Junaid, who like many others onboard worked in the Middle East but was forced to return home when his salary halved because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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